So
you’ve found your way here to learn something about the
basics of Combat as a Shaman. Before we begin be sure that you have
read the page on Druid Basics so everything makes a little more sense.
Now that you are all caught up let’s get started.

name="Totems">Totems

name="Totems">Totems are without a doubt what
the Shaman class is all about. Knowing which totems you should be
dropping is very important especially in large raid situations, and as
such communication with any other Shamans in your raid
or party is very
important to get the max benefits from your totems.

name="Totems">Recently Blizzard has shown
mercy to the Shaman class and provided an in game totem UI that allows
the Shaman to drop 4 different totems instantaneously on one global
cool down. However it still costs the combined mana cost of all four
totems. You are able to customize three different sets of
totems.

name="Totems">Most totems (unlike in the old
school WoW days) will affect every player in your raid your party. This
means that no matter what group you find yourself in, the rest of your
raid will still gain the buffs from your totems. There are a few
exceptions that should be noted as they will only affect the five
players in the Shaman’ party:

name="Totems">Poison and Disease Cleaning
Totems

name="Totems">Tremor Totem

name="Totems">Healing Stream

name="Totems">Mana Tide

name="Totems">Below are some useful totems
from each aspect (Air, Fire, Water, Earth) that should be dropped by
the Shamans in a raid/party:

name="Totems">
style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Air
Wrath of Air
Windfury Totem - Only if there is no DK or Enhancement Shaman present

name="Reincarnation">Reincarnation

name="Reincarnation">This useful ability gives the
Shaman another chance at life. So if you’ve done
something
silly like stood in the fire, or just had some bad luck this will give
you another shot to redeem yourself. Reincarnation is on a 30 minute
cool down and takes an Ankh each time you use it. To avoid having to
carry around a ton of Ankhs I would suggest using Glyph of Renewed Life
which does away with the need for an Ankh.

Knowing when to use your Reincarnation is very important. Keep in mind
that you will reincarnate exactly in the spot where you died so be sure
to check out your environmental surroundings before popping. For
example if your body is in a huge patch of fire, it may not be the best
idea to use your Reincarnation spell at that particular moment.

Knowing when Reincarnating is futile is also important. If it appears
your raid or party is wiping you will want to save your
Reincarnation for another time where it will be more useful. If in
doubt you can always ask your raid leader if he/she feels you should
use your Reincarnation or not.

name="Reincarnation">After a certain level Shamans
are given the ability to imbue their weapon with extra powers on top of
the usual gems and enchantments. The imbue will last a total of 30
minutes and can and should be reapplied at all times. Keeping this up
on your weapon will give you a great damage or healing boost.

There are several weapon imbues available, however it is pretty obvious
which imbues are made for which spec. Below is a list of the imbue you
should use with each spec:

style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Restoration

Earthliving
Weapon - Increases healing
done and each heal has a chance to proc Earthliving on the target which
heals for additional damage over time.

style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">
name="Reincarnation">Enhancement
name="Reincarnation">Windfury
Weapon - The imbue of choice
for your main hand weapon. Each hit has a chance of dealing additional
damage equal to two extra attacks.

style="font-style: italic;">
name="Reincarnation">Flametongue Weapon
name="Reincarnation">-
The imbue of choice for your off hand weapon. Increases total spell
damage and each hit causes extra Fire damage based on the speed of the
weapon. Slower weapons cause more fire damage per swing.

name="Reincarnation">Bloodlust/Heroism is another unique
ability Shamans have, and need to learn to manage. This ability
increases melee, ranged, and spell casting speed for all party and raid
members for 40 seconds. After the completion of this effect, those
affected with become Sated and be unable to benefit from Bloodlust/Heroism
again for 10 minutes. Bloodlust/Heroism itself is on a 5 minute cool down.

Using Bloodlust or Heroism at the right moment is all important. It’s
usually a good idea to speak with your raid leader to find out when
they would like you to use Bloodlust or Heroism on each fight, and if they will be
calling out when they want you to use it. You also have to be aware of
the Sated debuff, if the party/raid has this debuff your Bloodlust/Heroism will
be ineffective and in essence wasted.

name="Reincarnation" />
name="Solo" />
name="Reincarnation">Solo Play

name="Reincarnation">Shaman are a venerable force in
solo play, as they are able to do awesome DPS and heal in a pinch. To
learn more about soloing as a Shaman take the time to read these guides:

name="Group_" />
name="Group" />
name="Group_">Group Play

Elemental Shamans are focused on the Shaman’s offensive spell
casting abilities. Probably the best spec for PvP especially if you are
looking to maximize your damage. In raids Elemental Shamans are mainly
a utility class, so more than one in a raid is unlikely. Elemental
Shaman bring great flexibility, as they are capable of pushing out high
DPS, bring awesome buffs, and can also heal if the situation calls for
it.

Ehancement Shamans are must have for any raid group. They offer
substantial personal DPS, and bring totem buffs that are enchanced by
their talents beyond those offered by the other types of Shamans. These
include Strength of Earth, Windfury, and Unleashed Rage. Enhancement
shamans are not healers, especially since their gear focuses on melee
stats. An Enhancement Shaman should be dedicated to DPS and maximizing
totem coverage for the raid.

Restoration Shaman are the healers of the Shaman group. Resto Shamans
can fill the role of either single target healer (with Lesser Healing
Wave and the right glyphs) but really shine while raid healing as they
have one of the best multi-target heals in the game (Chain Heal). In a
raid or party Resto Shaman are expected to heal their assigned
targets (or the entire party if in a 5 man) and place the proper totems
at all times. Shaman of this spec offer Mana Tide Totem, as such they
should be placed with other mana using casters or healers to be most
effective.

name="Group_">Recommended
name="Mods">Mods

name="Mods">Omen (or other threat meter)

name="Mods">Shock and Awe

name="Mods">TotemTimers

name="Mods">Grid

name="Mods">Shaman Friend

name="Mods">Pawn Addon

name="Mods">Yata

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About The Author

Amunet, also fondly known as Memtron, is an organic life form best known for its ongoing obsession with Blizzard Entertainment's numerous properties. To that end, Amu has authored hundreds (thousands?) of the most popular World of Warcraft guides, editorials, and Top 10 lists on the planet. When not gaming and writing, Amu is busy chasing after her three children in a perpetual loop of ongoing disaster.